À Coeur Ouvert
by misfire ezreal
Summary: Tikki suggests Marinette spend more time with Chat; Ladybug takes her Kwami up on that advice. x Drabble. Might turn into a series.
1. Chapter 1

"I think you should meet up with Chat."

Marinette had just finished her physics homework in time to slam her textbook shut and spin around in her chair, eyes wide and incredulous.

"You what?" she asked, wondering if she'd somehow misheard her partner.

But no, the little red Kwami giggled at Marinette's reaction, whizzing around her head once before hovering around her eye level. "I think you and Chat should spend more time together!" she said.

"But… _Why?_ " Marinette wasn't against spending more time with her friendly (read: flirtatious) Akuma-fighting partner per se, but she didn't see a real need for it. They were already well-attuned to each other's fighting styles.

"Because you two don't really communicate well." Tikki fluttered down to Marinette's lap; the young girl instinctively cupped her hands to give the Kwami a comfortable place to rest. "You talk _at_ each other, but you never really _listen_. It would be good for you both to learn to properly speak to each other."

Marinette was about to retort, but she stopped herself. There had been plenty of times when she had cut Chat Noir off while he was speaking, and a few, rarer moments when he would trail off himself. She had learned to tune him out most of the time because of his incessant flirting, but maybe somewhere along the way, she'd started to tune out other things, too. Marinette considered this, leaning back in her chair, one hand absent-mindedly stroking Tikki's head.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," she replied carefully.

"Good!" The red Kwami snuggled into Marinette's palms. "I think it's for the best. Really, I do."

* * *

And that was how Marinette found herself here. She and Chat had just polished off an Akuma that had possessed a student who'd gotten a bad grade. Chat looked like he was about to take off, but right before he hopped off the school roof, she reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Chat, just a sec," she said. He turned expectantly, a bit surprised, but his expression quickly morphed into a playful grin.

"As you wish, My Lady," he said.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, Tikki's words echoing in her mind. "I think it's probably a good idea if we meet up more often. Between Akuma attacks, I mean."

"Like, to patrol?" Chat asked. It wasn't exactly what she had meant, no, but Ladybug would take it.

"Yeah. So when's a good time for you?"

He grinned. "Any time, as long as it's with you."

Before she could face-palm at his overly-cheesy dialogue, his ring bleeped, reminding them of the time limits ticking away on their transformations.

"Eight o'clock, around here?" she asked. Chat nodded. "All right."

Chat bowed. "It's a date, then, My Lady." His mischievous green eyes met her slightly annoyed ones, and she felt the lightest fluttering in her heart when he turned and leapt off the building.

It was gone as soon as he was. Marinette didn't pay much attention to it; she had class (and Adrien) to get back to. She didn't sweat the little things.

* * *

"I was worried you'd forgotten."

"Sorry." She was a little breathless, mostly because she'd ran most of the way here without transforming. "Had other things to do."

Chat was perched on the edge of the school roof, his legs spread comfortably and his hands behind him as he reclined slightly.

"Like what?" Chat asked, leaning towards her a little.

Like helping her parents close the bakery down for the night. Not that she could share that. Their identities were strictly classified information, and they had promised to keep it like that.

"Top secret things," she replied. Chat made a face.

"Top secret things I'm not invited to again?"

"Curiosity killed the cat," she responded, settling down beside him on the roof. The Parisian skyline was beautiful from here: the city lights were all lit up, and Paris glowed bright golds and blues beneath them, lively and dazzling against the muted purple of dusk. The city was buzzing with energy and life, even at this time in the evening, and if she closed here eyes, she could almost pretend she was spending this time with someone else, in a more romantic setting.

"But satisfaction brought it back." He leaned over, breaking her from her reverie almost as soon as it began. "I feel a little left out, My Lady. Can't you give me a hint?"

Ladybug turned her head to meet Chat's eyes. There was something glimmering in them, and she belatedly recognized a trace of hurt. Her own eyes softened in response, but she shook her head.

"Top secret," she said. "I'm sorry."

Chat's shoulders drooped only subtly, but Marinette caught the movement; she reached out and pat him on the back in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

"I'd tell you if I could."

He sighed. "I know you would." He didn't turn to face her again; he looked out to the city, eyes scanning the horizon for something and for a minute, they sat in (almost) content silence. "We should probably patrol."

For a brief moment, Marinette was worried he was upset. But then Chat stood, and grinned, and pulled her up suddenly, drawing her towards him. He leaned in a little too close to her face, and all she could really see were green eyes flecked with playfulness.

"We have a date, after all."

Marinette's own eyes were still wide when she pushed him away.

"Patrol is not a synonym for date," she chastised. And Chat Noir laughed, and she couldn't help the grin that snuck onto her own lips. "But you're right. Let's go."

Chat laughed again, and she knew everything would be okay. As long as Chat was Chat, everything would work out fine. He would let her know if he thought she was missing something important. He definitely would.

Ladybug jumped off the school roof, swinging her yo-yo to loop around a railing on the adjacent building; she headed towards the skyline, and Chat Noir followed.

* * *

 **I kept telling myself, "No, I shouldn't write a Ladybug fic, I've already got so many other stories going on and so much homework to catch up with." Guess you can tell how THAT worked out. lol. hollah if you want me to continue this! I'll do it, if you want me to. :)**

 **xoxoPigTails**


	2. Chapter 2

Note: I made some minor minor edits. Mostly added italics and a few words for clarity.

* * *

"Good evening, Ladybug."

Marinette alighted gently onto the roof of her school, hardly making a sound on her landing. It was eight o'clock on the dot; the sun only barely peeked out from the horizon, and from where she was right now, it was blocked almost entirely by lit-up Parisian buildings and skyscrapers. Clouds were wispy and scant, barely enough of them dotting the skyline to count on one hand. Consequently, Marinette was able to take in the beautiful sunset colors of the sky without any obstructions to her sight: beautiful golds blended seamlessly with night's dark blues, and a bit of sunset pinks blotched along the horizon where the sun was still out.

It was a beautiful evening.

"Hi, Chat." She took a few steps forward to stand beside her partner, who had already settled into a sitting position before she had arrived. She smiled at that, her hands going to her hips as she leaned over to speak to him. "Comfortable?"

"Sure," he replied. "I'd be even _more_ comfortable with your head on my shoulder, though."

Ladybug felt her smile falter a bit.

" _Not_ the time, Chat."

He pushed himself up to stand and face her, green eyes reflecting golds as he looked at her with a grin. He didn't apologize for his flirtations; he never did. But she took them only at face value, anyways, assuming he was just like that with all the girls he met.

"Where do you wanna start tonight?" Chat asked.

Marinette looked out at her city, eyes wandering for any sign of a disturbance. But tonight was quiet, and there hadn't been an Akuma attack at all today. She frowned.

"Let's just make some rounds," she said, settling into a crouch, prepping to leap off the rooftop. "We haven't gone a day without an attack ever before."

"It makes me a little worried," Chat admitted. Ladybug huffed.

"Me, too."

And then she leapt, her yo-yo flying almost naturally out in front of her to wrap around a nearby lamp-post to hoist her as she swung herself to a different building. With a quick flip, she righted herself in time to land on her feet, kneeling a bit to lessen the impact. Then she ran, wind blowing through her hair and bringing a small smile to her face again.

It felt so good, to be free and strong like this. She always felt invincible when she transformed: nothing could hurt her, and she could beat anything that might try to.

Chat caught up to her quickly, jogging beside her as they hopped from roof to roof. For a little while, they traveled in silence, scouring the city for signs of trouble. But eventually, the silence grew too great for Chat to bear.

"You think something bad's gonna happen?" he asked. "If there's no attack today?"

"Hopefully not," Ladybug replied, blue eyes glancing for a moment at Chat. His brow was furrowed in concern, his green eyes attentively focused on her. She looked away in a hurry. "Maybe whatever's causing the Akuma is gone, or weakened."

Chat made a humming sound, considering her words.

"I guess that makes sense," he said. But the worry in his eyes didn't fade much, she noticed as she stole a quick look at his face. "I just have this nagging feeling..."

Ladybug pursed her lips.

"Me, too."

Chat hummed again, and then he reached out to take her hand, quite to her surprise.

"Don't worry, My Lady," he said. "I'll protect you."

She had two urges at that moment: to roll her eyes and push him away, and also to smile back and squeeze his hand. She ignored both, instead gently pulling her hand away and laughing.

"Good luck _and_ a kitty cat on my side? I feel safer already!"

"A kitty cat with a cool weapon!" Chat Noir said; he swung his staff in front of him, fighting off invisible Akuma, eliciting another laugh from Ladybug.

"Right."

"A good-looking kitty cat," he continued.

"Uh-huh."

"A kitty cat with superpowers."

This time she did roll her eyes, pausing on the edge of a rooftop to put a hand on her hip and shake her head at him.

"What?" Chat Noir grabbed his tail and twirled it in his hand, and she could tell that beneath his mask, he had an eyebrow raised. "I _do_ have superpowers."

She hummed in reply, making fun of his earlier noncommittal responses to her. And then it was Chat's turn to roll his eyes, and then they both laughed, and a fluttery, giddy feeling flowed through her whole body.

If this is just talking _at_ each other, what would it be like to talk _to_ each other?

Ladybug wasn't sure, but as they hopped high above the bright lights of the city of love, she decided resolutely that she was going to find out.


End file.
